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Which car has 'better' acceleration?

T

thatsright

Diamond Member
I have a 2000 Nissan Maxima with AWESOME acceleration. Here are the engine specs:

Engine horsepower
moreinfo.gif
222-hp @ 6,400 rpm Engine torque
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217 lbs.-ft. @ 4,000 rpm

Thinking of getting a new car, a 2008 Jetta Wolfsburg I4 Turbo charged engine with:

Engine horsepower
moreinfo.gif
200-hp @ 5,100 rpm Engine torque
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207 lbs.-ft. @ 1,800 rpm

I LOVE The Woflsburg handling. Far better than my maxima. Didn't get to take the Jetta on the highway to check out its acceleration. But from the specs above, how would it compare?
 
Not enough info, but I'm going to predict that the VW will accelerate faster, but won't feel as fast as the Nissan due to a much broader curve (torque will be flat in the VW while its still climbing in the Nissan). If traction isn't a factor, the VW will put you back in the seat harder from a stop with its peak torque arriving just off idle, but from then on it won't feel as exciting even though is in fact quicker.

Both weigh the same, both the same peak numbers (too close to matter), but one is a turbo car that will hit those peaks sooner and have more power under the curve.

I also predict the turbo car will have taller gearing to take full advantage of the broader torque curve and require less shifting as well.
 
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Hi, nice to meet you turbo lag. The Maxima will feel faster off the line although technically they'll perform similarly, Maxima a slight edge in a straight line.
 
Doppel said:
Hi, nice to meet you turbo lag. The Maxima will feel faster off the line although technically they'll perform similarly, Maxima a slight edge in a straight line.
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Peak torque at 1800 rpm means there is no lag genius. It takes the Nissan 4000 rpm to reach the same torque, making the VW jump harder off the line.

More importantly, the VW can easily be modified and tuned for 25% morethan what it already has, sealing the deal.
 
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Approximate weights -

The Maxima weighs 3,245 lb
The Jetta weighs 3290 lb

Approximate 0-60 mph -

The Maxima SE 0-60 mph in a 6.7 secs and does a quarter mile in 15.1 seconds.

The Jetta does 0 to 60 mph in 6.9 secs and does a quarter mile in 14.8 seconds.
 
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PlasmaBomb said:
Approximate weights -

The Maxima weighs 3,245 lb
The Jetta weighs 3290 lb

Approximate 0-60 mph -

The Maxima SE 0-60 mph in a 8.0 secs and does a quarter mile in 16.0 seconds.

The Jetta does 0 to 60 mph in 6.9 secs and does a quarter mile in 14.8 seconds.
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That must have been from that one site that has all those really iffy times. Dragslips.com?

Anyhow :

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/nissan/112_9907_2000_nissan_maxima_se/engine.html

6.7/15.1 for the manual Maxima, a bit slower for the auto. The 6.9 time is about right for the Jetta manual, with the auto lagging a bit as well.

Adding boost to the 2.0T is cake though. Stock v. stock they will be basically identical.
 
Arkaign said:
That must have been from that one site that has all those really iffy times. Dragslips.com?

Anyhow :

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/nissan/112_9907_2000_nissan_maxima_se/engine.html

6.7/15.1 for the manual Maxima, a bit slower for the auto. The 6.9 time is about right for the Jetta manual, with the auto lagging a bit as well.

Adding boost to the 2.0T is cake though. Stock v. stock they will be basically identical.
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The maxima times are a bit all over the place - I did see some 6.7/15.1

The 8 sec came from a review summary - though on reading it the actually achieved 6.68 and averaged 6.84... so god knows why they stuck 8... /facepalm

Yup adding boost to the 2.0T is easy - should be able to get another 40 BHP or more with a relatively small outlay...
 
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exdeath gave you a really good answer. If the difference in acceleration is the deciding factor in your getting the Jetta, I wouldn't worry about it - go for it!!
 
Yeah, I think the Jetta would be a nice upgrade for the OP, 2000 model Maxima was probably mfg in '99, and is 12 years old, and that's a nice gen for the Jetta. OP shouldn't be expecting big gains if both are stock of course, but if he thinks stock Maxima acceleration is "AWESOME", then he should be pretty pleased to not really lose anything at all 🙂
 
Doppel said:
Hi, nice to meet you turbo lag. The Maxima will feel faster off the line although technically they'll perform similarly, Maxima a slight edge in a straight line.
Click to expand...

Ah, so, you are not updated with the fact that many turbo engines this day have almost no turbo lag (VW/Audi 2.0T for being one). Nice to meet you info lag.
 
Now lets talk about what it costs to get an additional 50-100 HP out of each car and which one won't puke up rods while doing it :awe:
 
mariok2006 said:
Except that the 2.0T has noticable lag...
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stock wise there is little to no lag.

driven many and they feel similiar to 2.8 VR6 of the older gen in terms of power off the line.

I think the 2.0T will just be faster/powerful in general over the 222hp maxima, given i've never driven the 222hp DE-K maxima but i have a 190-200hp DE maxima of the 95-99. I've driven the 2.0T and 3.2 R32 as well. The power delivery on stock 2.0T TSI/FSI is almost always with little to no lag.

VW pushes that point too that power comes at such a low RPM that lag is almost not there. Now if you go stage 2 and higher on the 2.0T then it another situation. I never did drive a modded/chiped 2.0T, only 1.8T's
 
Stock would be pretty even, but 500$ for an ECU program and the Jetta is much faster.

2.0T is a great engine, low fuel consumption with very decent performance.
 
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